Machine for operating on shoe bottoms



Miami: 11 1924.

E. ERICKSON MACHINE FOR OPERATING O N SHOE BOTTOMS Filed June 5, 1920 2Shets-Sheet 1 11 1924. 1,486,325 E; ERICKSON MACHINE FOR OPERATING ONSHOE BOTTOMS Filed June 3, 1920 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Mar. H, 1924.

teens EDWARD ERICKSON, OF BEVERLY, ItEASSACI-IUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO UNITEDSHOE MA- GHINERY COR-BORATION, OF PATERSON, NEW JERSEY, A COREPORATIONOF NEW JERSEY.

MACHINE FOR OPERATING DIN SHOE BOTTOMS.

. Application filed June 3,

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, EDWARD EnIoKsoN, acitizen of the United States, residing at Beverly, in the county ofEssex and State 6 of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and usefulIIIIPIOVGIHBIllLS in Machines for Operating on Shoe Bottoms; and I dohereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact descriptionof the invention,

such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains tomake and use the same.

This invention relatesto machines for operating on shoe bottoms and morepar ticularly to work-supports for use in such machines.

Although not limited thereto, the present 7 invention is especiallyadapted for use in connection with welt butting and tacking machines. Inwelt butting and tacking machines a welted, unsoled shoe is held inposition for the butting operation by a pair of welt supports whichproject into the welt crease beneath the ends of the welt. After beingbutted, the ends of the welt are tacked to the insole. The welt supportsdo not always hold the shoe with suflicient firmness to receive theimpact of the blows delivered by the tacker mechanism and as a resultthe welt ends are often improperly tacked to the insole. The shoe may berigidly supported by means of a jack or spindle, but the use of suchsupporting means requires additional manipulation of the shoe by the 3-5operator in placing it upon the jack and removing it therefrom.

One object of the present invention is to provide 111851118 1 01 firmlysupporting a lasted, unsoled shoe in position to be operated upon bydevices such a the butting and tacking instrumentalities of a weltbutting and tacking machine, without the use of a jack or similarwork-supporting device.

Wit-h this object in view, one feature of the invention contemplates theprovision in a machine for operating upon shoe bottoms having a devicefor delivering a blow against the shoe, of a. work-support for securelyholding the shoe in position to be operated 59 upon and firmlysustaining it against the impact of the blow, by engagement with thecounter portion of the upper above the comb of the last.

It is desirable that-the work-support shall not interfere with the freemanipulation of 1920. Serial No. 386,284.

the shoe as it is being presented by the operator to the welt supports,or with the ready removal of the shoe at the completion of the bottomingoperation. To this end, another feature of the invention contemplatesthe provision in a machine for operating on shoe bottoms having meansfor positioning the shoe for the bottoming operation, of a normallyretracted worksupport moved by the machine into supporting engagementwith the shoe, after the shoe has been positioned, and then retractedfrom the shoe at the completion of operations thereon.

A still further feature of the invention consists in certain features ofconstruction and arrangement of the work-support and its actuatingmechanism, whereby the support is adapted to automatically adjust itself to the particular shoe which is to be operated upon so as tosup-port the shoe in the exact position determined by the positioningmeans, irrespective of the style or size of the shoe, and which willoperate equally well on both right and left shoes.

The invention furtherconsists in the features of construction andcombinations of parts hereinafter described and particularly pointed outin the appended claims, the advantages of which will be apparent tothose skilled in the art.

The various features of the invention will be best understood from adescription of the preferred embodiment thereof, illustrated in theaccompanying drawings, in which the invention has been shown as embodiedin a welt butting and tacking machine such as that disclosed in UnitedStates Letters Patent No. 1,373,553, granted Apr. 5, 1921, on myapplication. I

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a view in side elevation showing so much ofthe machine of said prior patent as is necessary to illustrate theembodiment therein of the present invention; Fig. 2 is a plan view, onan enlarged scale, showing the work-support detached from the machine.together with a portion of the actuating mechanism therefor; Fig. 3 is aview, in front elevation, of the parts shown in Fig. 1; Fig. 4 is adetail sectional view, on an enlarged scale, taken on the line 44 ofFig. 3; Fig. 5 is a detail sectional view, also on an enlarged scale,taken on the line 5-5 of Fig. 2; and Figs. 6 and 7 are detail v ews illstrating, in plan and side elevation, respectively, a portion of theactuating mechanism for the work-support.

In the embodiment of the invention illustrated in the drawings, theportions of the Welt butting and tacking machine which are illustrated,are the back-gage 8 (Fi 3) the welt supports 10; the welt butting knives12 (see also Fig. 1), their carriers l4, and the knife-operating slides.16; the swinging side-frames 18, upon which the Welt supports and theknifeoperating slides are mounted; the nozzles 20 of the tackermechanism; the main driving shaft 2.2; and the crank-pin 2 f, carried bythe main shaft, which actuates the tack delivering mechanism; all ofwhich are carried by the'head 26 which is mounted on the supportingcolumn 28. The above named parts, together with the actuating mechanismstherefor, and all other parts not hereinafter specifically referred to,are constructed and arranged to operate in substantially the same manneras that of the corresponding parts of the machine of the above-namedpatent. For a full and complete description of the construction andoperation of said parts reference may be had to said patent.

To firmly support the shoe for the performance of the welt buttingoperation and to sustain it against the blows of the tacker mechanism, awork-support is provided, comprising a pair of oppositely disposedclamping arms 30, which are carried by a bracket 32, at the front of thehead 26. The bracket 32 consists of a two-armed forward extension of aflat plate 34:, which is interposed horizontally between the head 26 andthe supporting column 28 of the welt butting machine, and is rigidlyheld inplace by the bolts that secure together the head and the column.The clamping arms 30 are mounted for horizontal swinging movement onpivot studs 36 rising from the arms of the bracket 32. At its forwardextremity, each clamping arm 30 carries a shoe-supporting pad 38, thepads 38 being adapted to engage the counter portion of the upper, abovethe comb of the last, on opposite sides of the shoe. The pads 38 areconstructed of suitable soft or yielding material to prevent injury tothe shoe and, as shown in Figs. 2, 3 and 5, they are carried by a holderor plate 40. Each pad holder 40 is formed at one side of a cylindricalstem 42 (Fig. 5) extending downwardly from the pad into a verticalsocket 44 in the clamping arm 30. The stems 42 are confined in thesockets is: by means of retaining screws 46, which are threaded intothe. stems and project through transverse slots 4-8 in the walls of thesockets, the slots 48 permitting the stems 42 to turn a limited amountin their sockets, and thus enabling the pads 38 to adjust themselves tothe longitudinal angularity of the opposite sides of the counter portionof the upper. The shoe-engaging faces of the pads 38 are disposed at aslight angle to their stems 42, in order that they-may conform to thevertical pitch of the opposite. sides of the shoe. In order tore-enforce the clamping arms 30 against the downward thrust impartedthereto by the blows of the tacker mechanism, the arms of the bracket 32areextended forwardly, beyond the pivot studs 38, and terminate in flatsegmental bearing faces 50 which engage similarbearing faces on theunder side of the clamping arms, at the forward ends of the latter. llith such a construction, a wide bearing surface is provided for theclamping arms, however they may be radially positioned while supportingthe shoe. I In order that the supporting pads 38 may be automaticallymoved into supporting engagement with the shoe, after the shoe has beenpositioned by the welt supports and before the welt butting operationbegins, and retracted from the shoe to facilitate removal of the latterat the completion of the welt butting and tacking operations, thesupporting pads are normally maintained in retracted or inoperativepositions, and mechanism is provided for actuating the clamping arms 30to swing the pads against the sides of the shoe, and to retract themtherefrom, at the proper time. To this end each clamping arm 30 isprovided with a rearward extension 54 (Fig. 2), the arm 30 and theextension 5 1 constituting a lever which is fulcrumed upon the pivotstud 36. The extensions 54 of the clamping arms curve inwardly towardeach other and are connected by a coiled spring 56 which tends to swingthe forward ends of the clamping arms apart and to hold the freeextremities of the clamping arm' extensions 54 in engagement with a pairof inclined fa 58 that are formed on opposite sides of a wedge-block6-0, by means of which the clamping arms are actuated. wedgeblock 60 iscarried at the upper end of arm 62 which is secured to a ro lsshaft 6%tha is journaled in a bearing in the bracket 32.

In order that the shoe supporting pads 38 may be positioned to properlysupport right and left shoes, or shoes of different styles and sizes,provision is 1 e permitting swinging movement or of the clamping arms30, .m. other of said arms. To this end block (30 has a sliding flea"with its supporting arm 62, hi n that the extensions 5 of both clampingarms will be engaged by the wedgeblock before any pressure tending toclamp th. shoe is applied to either of said arms. Thi; floatingconnection is attained by means a lug 68 of the shape shown in Fig. 7, t

epe

lug depending from the under side of the wedge-block, which isdovetailed for sliding movement in a correspondingly shaped groove 7 0in the top edge of the supporting arm 62. The upper edge of the arm 62is flattened to engage a flat bearing face on the under side of thewedge-block and thus support the wedge-block against tilting relativelyto its supporting arm.

The rock-shaft 64: is rotated to actuate the wedge-block 60 and causethe supporting pads 38 to clamp the shoe, by means including an arm 74which is secured to the rockshaft 64 and extends substantially at rightangles to the arm 62 so that the arms 74 and 62 constitute in effect abell-crank lever. The rear extremity of the arm 74: is operativelyconnected with the crank-pin 24, on the main drive shaft 22, by meanswhereby said arm'is swung yieldingly in a direction to effect theclamping of the shoe, and positively in the opposite direction. To thisend the rear of the arm 74: is pivotally connected, as shown in Figs. 1,3 and 4, with a sleeve 7 6 that is adapted to slide upon a rod 78, theupper end of which is pivoted upon the crank-pin 24. The sleeve 7 6 issupported upon the rod 78 by bearing upon the hub of a hand-wheel 80which 1s threaded upon the lower end of the rod. A spring 82 surroundsthe rod 78 and is interposed between the sleeve 76 and a shoulder 84 atthe upper end of the rod.

In operation, the shoe isheld with its rear or heel portion against theback-gage 8, whereby the shoe is positioned longitudinally with the weltends opposite the welt support as in the machine of the patenthereinbefore referred to. The operator then depresses a foot treadlewhich is not shown in the drawings, but is illustrated and described inthe prior patent. The depression of the treadle operates, in the usualmanner, first to cause the welt supports to be projected into the weltcrease, on opposite sides of the shoe, to position the shoe for the weltbutting and tacking operation, and then to start the machine inoperation, under pOWer. As the main shaft 22 rotates in the direction ofthe arrow in Fig. 1, the crank-pin 24: moves downwardly, and through themedium of the spring 82, the arms 74 and 62 are yieldingly swung in adirection to force the inclined faces 58 of the wedge-block 60 acrossthe opposed rear extremities of the clamping arm extensions 54, thusspreading said extensions apart and swinging the clamping arms 30 towardeach other to clamp the shoe. The construction of the wedgeblockactuating mechanism is such that the shoe-supporting pads 38 willbebrought into engagement. with the shoe before the crank-pin 24reachesthe lowermost portion of its path. of movement. ,During theremaining portion of the downward movement of the crank-pin, the spring82 will be compressed between the shoulder 84 and the sleeve 76, and thehand-wheel 80 will be moved downwardly away from the sleeve. The forceof the compressed spring 82 will then act on the arms 74c and 62 andwedge-block 60, to securely clamp the shoe between the shoe supportingpads 38. l/Vhile the crank-pin 24 is moving through the lowermostportion of its path of rotation, and the shoe is held securelysupported, the welt butting and tacking operations occur. During thelatter half of the cycle of operations of the machine, as the crankpin24 moves upwardly, the compression of the spring 82 is relieved, andwhen the hub of the hand-wheel 80 engages the sleeve 76, the arms 74 and62 and wedge-block 60 will be positively returned to their normalinoperative positions. The force with which the shoe is to be clampedmay be varied by turning the hand-wheel 80 thereby varying the normalcompression of the spring 82, In order that the hand-wheel 80 may bepositively secured in adjusted position on the rod 78, the hub of thewheel is split and is provided with a clamping screw 86 for contractingthe hub and locking the handwheel against turning on the rod.

When a shoe is positioned for the welt butting operation the counterportions usually extend unequally on opposite sides of a vertical planelocated midway between open clamping arms 30. Accordingly, as the shoesupporting pads 38 move inwardly to clamp the shoe, it usually happensthat one pad will engage the shoe before the other. By means of thesliding or floating connection between the wedge-block 60 and the arm62, the wedge-block is permitted to slide laterally with respect to saidarm after one of the pads 38 has engaged the shoe, thereby causing theother pad to be brought into supporting engagement with the shoe beforepressure is applied to either of the clamping arms 30. In this way thereis no tendency for the action of the clamping arms to tip or displacethe shoe laterally out of the position in which it was first located bythe welt supports.

By means of the herein described work support the shoe is clamped in theposition determined by the welt supports and is firmly held in saidposition during the welt butting and tacking operations. The worksupport sustains the shoe against the blows of the tacker mechanism sothat the shoe will not be displaced thereby and thus the proper tackingof the welt ends to the insole is insured. The work-support, being nor-.mally retracted and automatically moved the removai'or the shoe fromthe machine the shoe .tothe machine by the operator, or 7 after it hasbeen operated upon, and consequently will not retard the operative speedof the machine.

While it is preferred to employ the specific construction andarrangement of parts herein shown and described, it will be understoodthat this construction and arrangement is not essential except so far asspecitied in the claims and may be changed or modified without departingfrom the spirit and true scope of the invention,

What is claimed as new is 2- 1. A machine for operating on the bottom ofa lasted unsoled shoe having, in combination, means for operating on theshoe bottom, and means for supporting the shoe in position to beoperated upon comprising devices for engaging in the welt crease andagainst the counter portion of the upper above the comb of the last.

2. A machine for operating on the bottom of a lasted unsoled shoehaving, in combination, means for operating on the shoe bottom, meansfor positioning the shoe laterally for the bottoming operation, and awork support adapted to be brought into engagement with the oppositesides of the counter portion of the upper after the shoe has beenpositioned for said operation and acting to support the shoe withoutdisturbing its lateral position.

3. A machine for operating on the bottom of a lasted unsoled shoehaving, in combination, tacker mechanism, means for engaging in the weltcrease to position the shoe for the operations to be performed thereon,devices tor engaging the counter portions of the upper on opposite sidesof the shoe to support the shoe while being operated upon, and means foroperating the tacker mechanism to drive tacks into the shoe. bottomwhile the shoe is thus supported.

4:. A machine for operating on the bottom of a lasted unsoled shoehaving, in combination, means for delivering a blow against the shoebottom, and means for supporting the shoe against the impact of the blowcomprising a device arranged to close against the counter portion of theupper between the bulge of the last and comb of the last.

5. A machine for operating on the bottom of a lasted unsoled shoe havingin combination, means for delivering a blow against the shoe bottom,means for positioning the shoe for the bottoming operation, and meansfor securely clamping the shoe as positioned and sustaining it againstthe impact of the blow comprising devices for engaging the counterportion of the upper above the cfimb of the last on opposite sides ofthe s 0e.

6, In a machine for operating on lasted shoe bottoms provided with atool for de live ring a blow against the shoe, means for positioning theshoe relatively to said tool,

row portion of the shoe and last below the widest part of the last andfor retracting it therefrom.

8. In a machine for operating on shoe bottoms, means for positioning theshoe for the bottoming operation, and means for supporting the shoewhile it is being operated upon comprising normally retractedindependently movable supports adapted to engage the counter portion ofthe upper on opposite sides of the shoe, and means for bringing saidsupports into clamping engagement with the shoe and retracting themtherefrom.

9. In a machine for operating on lasted shoe bottoms, a normallyretracted device for supporting the shoe while being operated upon,means for yieldingly projecting said device into supporting engagementwith the shoe beneath overhanging portions of the last and forpositively retracting it therefrom.

10. A shoe supporting device comprising a pair of pivoted clamping armsfor engaging the counter portions of the upper on opposite-sides of ashoe firmly to support the shoe for an operation tobe performed thereon,and means for actuating the clamp ing arms to engage and release theshoe, said means being constructed and arranged to permit independentmovement of either of said clamping arms relatively to the other tocause said arms automatically to adjust themselves to shoes positionedwith their counter portions unequally distant from a plane locatedmidwaybetween the pivots of the clamping arms.

,11. A shoe supporting device comprising a pair of levers havingoppositely disposed. ends for clamping a shoe, a wedge arranged to movetransversely of the shoe and to engage the other ends of said levers,means for actuating the wedge to swing the levers in a direction toclamp the shoe, and means for swinging the levers in the oppositedirection to release the shoe.

12. A shoe supporting device comprising a pair of pivoted clamping armsadapted to swing toward and from each other to bring their freeextremities into and out of clamping engagement with the opposite sidesof a shoe, means for actuating the clamping arms firmly to clamp theshoe in position to be operated upon, and bearings engaging the clampingarms adjacent their free extremities to support them in all positionswithin their range of swinging movement.

13. 'A shoe supporting device comprising a pair of levers havingoppositely disposed ends for clamping the shoe, means for separating theother ends of the levers to cause said first-mentioned ends to clamp theshoe, and means permitting lateral drift of said separating meansrelatively to the shoe so that the levers will close equally upon theshoe irrespectively of the lateral position of the shoe and the shoewill be clamped in that position upon further operation of saidseparating means.

14. A device for supporting an inverted shoe and last, comprisingclamping means for engaging opposite sides of the shoe below the bulgeof the last, means for determining the lateral position of the shoe, andmeans for operating the clamping means to cause both sides of the lastto be engaged by the clamping means irrespectively of the lateralposition of the shoe and then to cause clamping pressure to be appliedequally to the two sides of the shoe and last.

15. A shoe supporting device comprising means for locating an invertedshoe and last laterally, a pair of levers independently pivoted betweentheir ends, one end of each lever having a clamping pad arranged toengage the side of the shoe, and means for actuating the opposite end ofone of the levers until its end engages the shoe, then actuating theother lever until its pad engages the shoe and then actuating bothlevers together to clamp the shoe in the position determined by saidlocating means.

16. A machine of the class described having, in combination, means foroperating upon the bottom of a lasted shoe, means for determining thelateral position of the shoe relatively to the operating means, andclamping means arranged for movement to engage the sides of the shoe andlast below the operating means, said means being constructed andoperated to apply equal pressure to the shoe and last irrespectively oftheir lateral position.

17. A machine of the class described having, in combination, means foroperating on an inverted shoe on its last, means engaging opposite sides01": the last adjacent to the cone of the last, and means for applyingequalized pressure to sustain the last irrespectively of the lateralposition of the two sides relatively to the operating means.

18. In a machine of the class described, shoe clamping means comprisingmembers arranged to engage the sides of the shoe below the shoe bottomat points where the last is narrower than its greatest width, a wedgearranged for movement longitudinally of the shoe and connections betweenthe wedge and the clamping members to cause them to clamp the shoe uponmovement of the wedge.

19. In a machine of the class described, shoe clamping means comprisingmembers arranged to engage the sides of the shoe be tween the shoebottom and the comb of the last, a wedge arranged for movementlongitudinally and laterally, and connections between the wedge and theclamping means to cause equal pressure to be applied by the clampingmeans to the shoe upon longitudinal actuation of the wedge.

EDWARD ERIGKSON.

